Overview

Launching a new car brand is tough. But doing so in the electric car market, where you’re going up against so many well-established and fearsomely competitive rivals would appear to be extremely brave. Or foolhardy. Step forward BYD, who is trying to do just that with its new Seal performance saloon.

The thing is that it might just pull it off. You might not have heard of BYD, but it’s a brand with big plans in the UK – and although its products have only been on sale in the UK since February 2023, the firm is already offering a range of three EVs, and selling them through a growing dealer network.

BYD is already the largest producer of EVs globally thanks to huge sales in its native China, and it has ambitious plans to make a big splash over here, too. These include three models for the UK market – the Atto 3, Dolphin and the Seal. That’s quite some going.

In a nutshell, the Seal is a performance saloon cast very much in the same mould as the Tesla Model 3, which – unsurprisingly – as the market leadeing saloon is its closest rival. But also in its sights are the BMW i4, Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Polestar 2. All of these are young, design-led, and have made quite a splash with EV buyers. For BYD to have a chance against these cars, it’s going to have to be good. Very good.

It certainly looks the part, with smooth styling with more than a hint of Porsche Taycan at the front, and a coupe-like roofline that emphasises its sportiness. The Seal takes the mantle of flagship for BYD in the UK, and is tasked with creating a halo product for the new brand.

It’s available either in rear-wheel drive Design form or as the faster four-wheel drive Excellence, with all the eye-opening acceleration you come to expect from a decent performance-oriented electric car. Both models have a claimed range of more than 300 miles, plus well-designed interiors that are packed with impressive tech.

The Design and Excellence come with a limited range of options. This lack of configurability is down to the standard car being so well equipped. It features adaptive cruise control, a full driver-assistance suite, 360-degree parking cameras, LED lights all round, twin wireless charging docks and an impressively clever heat pump.

The Design is the entry-level Seal and along with the aforementioned kit, it features 19-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic roof, and excellent Dynaudio stereo. If speed is a priority then you should go for the flagship all-wheel drive Excellence. It’s more expensive, but it does come with some additional kit, such as a head-up display

UK prices were set before the revised (and cheaper) Tesla Model 3 hit the market, so it doesn’t appear as good value as it did when the firm originally announced its pricing. BYD will be trying to entice new customers with some competitive finance deals and a six-year warranty for the car, which extends to eight for the battery and drivetrain, but promises a better customer experience than its mainstream rivals.

Over the next few pages we’ll be scoring the BYD Seal in 10 key areas to give it a score out of five. They’ll take into account the driving experience, how pleasant the interior is, the practicality on offer and what it’ll cost you.